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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

W. H. PBPPERKU A. T. L. DAVIS. SPLIGING THREAD FEED MECHANISM FOB.KNITTING MACHINES.

No. 440,606. l] Patented Novy. 11, 11890. l/Z [,gf@

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W. 11. PEPPER an 11. 1. L. DAVIS. SPL'IGING THREAD FEED MEGHANISM FOB.KNITTING MACHINES.

No. 440,606. Patented Nov. 11, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM I-I. PEPPER AND ALBERT T. L. DAVIS, OF LAKE VILLAGE, ASSIGNORSTO TI-IE PITMAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OE LACCNIA, NEV HAMP- SHIRE.

SPLICING-THREAD-FEED MECHANISM FOR KNlTTlNG-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 440,606, dated November11, 1890.

Application filed March 17, 1890.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that We, VILLIAM H. PEPPER and ALBERT T. L. DAVIS, of LakeVillage, in the county of Belknap and State of New Hampshire, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements inSplicing-ThreadFeedMechanism for Knitting-Machines, of which thefollowing; is a specification.

The present invention is for the same purpose as that described and setforth in our application for Letters Patent of the United States, iiledFebruary 1890, Serial No. 339,297. In said application there isdescribed a circular latclrneedle knitting-machine for forming knittedribbed tubular Webs in which a re-enforcing patch is automaticallyknitted into the Web, said patch being` formed by running in asplicing-thread and breaking' it off at each round of stitches. In themechanism set forth in said application the' splicing thread is fed inby the frictional contact there- With of the main thread, and theapplication Was based more particularly upon mechanism for slackeningthe splicing-thread, in order that the same may be loose and entirelyfree from tension at the moment when it is fed in (at each round ofstitches) by the frictional contact of the main thread, the purpose being to enable the splicing-thread to be fed in with certainty anduniformity at each round.

Now, the present invention consists in a different and improvedmechanism for slackening,` the splicing-thread for the same object andpurpose and in the gripping` mechanism co-operating with saidslacker-ring mechanism.

In the accompanying' drawings We have illustrated the present improvedthread-slack ener applied to a Well-known type of circular latch-needleknitting-machine for knitting` ribbed webs, such as is also shown insaid above-named application.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side View of the head of theknittinganachine provided with the present improved threadslackener.Fig. 2 is a plan vieW thereof, and Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 areviews of parts in detail.

Like reference figures and numbers desig nate corresponding parts in allof the figures, and reference-letters are used to designate with thethread-guide.

Serial No. 344,085. (No model.)

parts common With similar parts in said application, whilereference-numerals are employed to designate new parts or thosediftering from corresponding` parts in said application.

A is the usual headplate of a circulaeknittin g machine.

B is the constantly-rotating,r cylinder or ring which operates thecylinder-needles.

C is the stationary needle-cylinder- D is the stationary dial-needleplate, and E is the constantly-rotating` dial-cam plate which aotuatesthe dial-needles and which is rigidly connected with the cylinder orring B by means of a spindle a and bracketarn1 h. The thread-guide plateF is secured by a bracket-arm G to the cam-plate E, so as to rotatetherewith, and is provided With a single leading-in thread-guide eye c,through which both the main thread and the splicing-thread y pass.

The splicing-thread bobbin II is carried by a bracket I, centrallysupported on the rotating' spindle d, so that the bobbi-n turns To thebracket I is secured a vertical post d, having a horizontally-extendingtension-bar c, suitably bent or notched at f to constitute athread-guide, which in turn may, it desired, carry an outwardly-projecting spring-arm g, having on its outer extremitya tension-thread eyeh. The splicing-thread passes upwardly from its bobbin II, over the barc in the guidenotch f, and thence downwardly toward the thread-eye c inthe guide-plate F.

In accordance with the present improvements the course ot' thesplicing-thread from eye 7L to eye c is different from its course insaid application. In the present case the bracket-arm G is provided atits outer end, above the guideplate F, with a verticalradially-evtending,` plate l0. Considering that side of the plate l0 tobe the front side, which is in advance as it rotates, it carries on itsfront side and at its upper part two splicingthread guides ll and l2.The first of these guides ll is an open loop mounted directly above thevertical plate 10, and the other guide l is conveniently formed by aWire I3,

extending outwardly from the plate 10 and in front of the same. Thiswire is bent inwardly in a horizontal plane, and is bent or recessed toconstitute the guide 12. The guide 12 is in approximately the samehorizontal plane as the guide-loop 11. The bracket-arm G also carries aplate 14, extending outwardly beyond the guide-plate F, and in it isformed a thread-eye 15, which is located in the near neighborhood of theleading-in thread-eye c. The splicing-thread y is carried fromtensioneye h under the loop-guide 11, thence over the guide 12, thencethrough the eye 15, and inally through the leading-in eye c. Thesplicing-thread between guides 11 and 12 extends in a substantiallyhorizontal plane, and the three guides 11, 12, and 15 are insubstantially the same vertical plane. The eye 15 is just outside of theouter face of the guideplate F, so that between the eyes 15 and c thesplicing-thread extends close along the outer surface of the guide-plateF.

The main thread is led from its bobbin (which may be located at anyconvenient place) through tension and guide-eyes fi t' on the post d.From the last of these eyes t it extends to and through a guide-eye 16in the plate 14, and thence through the leading-in eye c. The guide-eye16 is located in front of the eye c and nearlyin a radial linetherewith, and in substantially the same horizontal plane, for reasonswhich will hereinafter appear.

1n describing the mechanisms and operations involved in feeding in thesplicingthread and in breaking it olf at each round of stitches thelatter will be lirst set forth, Since an understanding of thebreaking-olf mechanism is prerequisite to a clear comprehension of thefeeding `in mechanism, of which the splicingthread slackener forms apart.

The splicing-thread is broken off automatically at each round by agripper, which grips the splicing-thread and holds it from being fed iu,so that the splicing-thread is broken by the continuance of the knittingoperation, and the splicing-thread cannot be again fed in until it isreleased by the gripper. The gripper is composed of a fixed gripping-jawand a movable gripping-jaw. The outer face of the guide-plate F itselfconstitutes in the present instancethe fixed gri pping-jaw. The movablegripping-jaw comprises an elbow-lever having a horizontal arm 17 and avertical arm 18. The inner end of the horizontal arm is pivoted at 19 tothe upper inner part of the front face of the vertical plate 10. Thevertical arni 18 by its own weight rests against the outer face of theguide-plate F, its inner gripping-surface lying flush with the outerface of said plate F. The position of the movable gripper-jaw is suchthat its vertical arm 18 extends between the splicing-thread eye 15 andthe leading-in eye c, so that it grips that portion of thesplicing-thread which extends between said eyes. The movable grippingjawis moved to and from the fixed jaw (or plate F) by swinging it on itspivot 19. When it is swung out from the plate, the splicingthread isfree to be fed in by the frictional contact therewith of the mainthread, and when the movable gripping-jaw is swung in against the plateF it grips the splicing-thread, (whereby the latter is broken off,) andthe feeding in of the splicing-thread is discontinued as long as themovable gripping-jaw is against the plate F. rPhe gripping of thesplicing-thread, therefore, by the gripper determines the point in eachround where the splicing-thread is broken and where the patchterminates, and the release of the splicingthread by the gripper isprerequisite to enable the splicing-thread to be fed to the needles.During the knitting of the unspliced portions of the web the gripperalways holds the splicingthread,sothatin the normal position of thegripper the splicing-thread is inactive. The gripper is primarilybrought into operation by means of a pattern-chain K, operated in ausual manner and having at proper intervals cams m (which initiate thesplicing operation) and cams n, (which discontinue the splicingoperation.) The cams m and n occupy different planes on thepattern-chain. The number and relative positions of the cams m n on thepattern-chain are determined by the character of the work to be done,and as such a pattern-chain is in itself old and well known only one camm and one cam n are shown. The pattern -cams m n co-operate,respectively, with two vertically-movable rods L M, guided in suitableways formed in a bracket N, fixed to the head-plate A. The pattern-camslift the rods, and when the cams have passed the rods drop by gravity,their downward movement being limited by guide-pins o 0, working` insuitable guide-slots, said guide-pins also preventing any rotation ofthe rods in their respective ways.

Pivoted at p to the upper face of the bracket N is ahorizontally-swinging lever P, coacting with both rods L and M, itspivotal point being located between the said rods, so that when theinner rod M is raised it will swing the lever in the direction indicatedby the arrow 2, and when the outer rod L is raised it will be swung inthe opposite direction. The coacting faces of the rods L and M and ofthe lever P are properly beveled (see Fig. 3) to render their movementseasy. Whenever moved to either position by one of the rods, the leverremains there until acted upon by the other rod.

Alongside the lever P and pivote-d to the outer end of the bracket N onits side is a vertically-swinging lever Q, the free end of which is heldfroml lateral displacement (and the downward movement thereof limited)by proper guides on or in the bracket N. This lever Q is acted upon bythe lever P in such manner that it is lifted by said lever P when thelatter is moved by the out-er rod L. Thisl is conveniently accomplishedbya beveled or IOO IIO

cam-shaped projecting tongue q on the inner end of thehorizontally-swinging lever P, which registers with an aperture r in thevertically-swinging lever Q. When the lever P is operated by the outerrod L its tongue enters the aperture fr, and the cam-face of the tongue,engaging the upper margin of said aperture, raises the free end of thelever Q. The lever Q remains in this elevated position until the lever Pis acted upon by the inner rod M, which swings lever P so as todisengage its cam-tongue from the aperture in lever Q, which latter thenresumes by gravity its normal lower position.

The lever Q carries on its inner end a gripper-actuating cam-plate R,the essential characteristic of which is that its outer cam-face is atan incline to a radial line drawn from the axis of the machine, and theforward edge of this outer cam-face-that is, its edge which isfirstencountered by the tappet-pin T, hereinafter referred to-is nearerthe axis of the machine than its rear edge, as shown in Fig. 2. )Whenthe lever Q is raised7 this gripper-actuating cam-plate is brought intothe path of a rotating part which is in operative connection with themovable splicingthread-gripping jaw 17 and 18, and the camplate remainsin this operative position until the lever Q resumes its normal positionafter the completion of the spliced section or patch. The essentialoperation, therefore, of the mechanism between the pattern-chain Vandthe gripper-actuating cam-plate (which is identical with that set forthin the abovenamed application) is such that the said camplate is broughtinto operative position when the formation of the patch is to beinitiated, remains in this operative position during the entireformation of the patch, and resumes its normal inactive position on thecompletion of the patch.

The movable gripping-jaw 17 18 is acted upon directly by a horizontalradial reciprocating cam-bar S, which slides in a radial horizontal lineinsuitable ways formed in or on the bracket-arm G and its vertical platelO. The vertical arm'lS of the movable gripping-jaw is provided with twoinwardly-projecting tappet-pins 2O 20, (extending from the side of thearm 1S next the plate 10,) which are located, respectively, above andbelow the cam-bar S. The cam-bar has an inclined cam-face 'a on itsupper surface and an inclined cam-face r on its lower surface. When thecam-bar is drawn out-that is, when it is moved radially away from theaxis of the machine-its upper cam-face u encounters the upper tappet-pin20 and pushes said pin before it, thus swinging the arm 18 outward andso releasing the splicing-thread. When the cam-bar is moved inward,however, its lower cam-face o encounters the lower tappetpin 20, thuspushing the pin inward and consequently forcibly forcing the arm 18 ofthe gripping-jaw against the plate F, and so insuring a firm grip uponthe splicing-thread.

It will bo noted that when the cambar occupies either its outermost orinnermost position the movable gripping-j aw is locked and cannot beswung on its pivot, this locking being due to the fact that thethickness of those portions of the cam-bar which lie on either side ofthe two cams u o is equal to the distance between the two pins 2O 20, asindicated in Fig. 6. Consequently the movable grippingjaw can only bemoved when the cam-bar moves longitudinally. It will further be notedthat before one pin (say the upper pin) is encountered by its @am u theother cam o will have passed beyond the other (lower) pin, so that themovable gripping-jawis free to swing when the cam-bar occupies anintermediate position.

The cam-bar S carries on its outer end a downwardly-projectingtappet-pin T, into the path of which the cam-plate R is brought when thelever Q is lifted. (See Fig. 1.) Vtrhen the cam-bar S and its tappet-pinT occupy their innermost position, the portion of the cam-plate Radjacent to the forward edge -of the outer cam-face of the cam-plate Ris in the path of the tappeti-pin. (See Fig. 2.) That is, when the partsare in this position the forward edge of the outer cam-face of thecam-plate is nearer the axis of the machine than the tappet-pin. Thentherefore in its rotation the tappet-pin encounters the camplate, ittravels on the outer cam-surface thereof, and in this manner the cam-barS is drawn out, thus swin ging outwardly the movable gripping-jaw of thegripper and leaving the splicing-th read free to be fed to the needlesby the frictional contact therewith of the main thread. The movable jawof the gripper then remains in its outward position for an intervaldepending upon the desired width of the patch, and while it is so swungoutwardly the knitting with the splicing-thread continues. The movablejaw ofthe gripper is caused to swing inwardly and grip the thread (andso limit the width of the patch) by a stationary inclined cam-plate U,fixed at the desired position on the head-plate with its cam-face in theplane and path of the tappet-pin T. The coacting face of this cam facesthe axis of the machine, so that when the tappet-pin is engaged therebyit forces the tappet-pin radially inward, thus moving in the cam-bar S,and so swinging the gripper inwardly, causing the latter to grip thethread, so that it is broken by the onward movement of the dial-plate E.The gripping-edge of the movable jaw of the gripper is in close proX-imity to the leading-in guide-eye in the guideplate, so that the brokenend of the splicingthread is always left in the guide-eye, where it issubject to the frictional contact of the main thread the moment thegripper is raised. As long as the lever Q remains in its elevatedposition with the cam-plate R in the path of the gripper-controllingtappet-pin T, the movable jaw of the gripper will he raised and loweredat each round of stitches. When, how- IOO yates the eyed end of thelever.

y"slackener for slackening the splicing-thread and relieving it of alltension at the moment when the movable gripping-jaw is swung outward, inorder that the splicing-thread may with certainty and uniformity be fedin by the frictional contact therewith of the main thread. This isaccomplished by means of a slackening-lever 21, which is pivoted at 22to 'a vertical post 23, carried by the bracket-arm G on the oppositeside of the spindle a from the vertical plate 10. The long end of thisslackening-lever 21 is formed with a horizontally-extending thread-eye24, and when the lever is in its normal position this thread-eye islocated between the splicing-thread guides 11 and 12 in the samehorizontal plane therewith, so that the splicing-thread in passing fromguide 11 to guide 12 passes through the thread-eye 24. The normalposition of the eye end of the lever 21 is its elevated position, and itis maintained in this elevated position and normally resumes it whendepressed'by reason of the short tail end 25 of the lever being theheavier end. This slackening-lever rotates with the other rotary partsof the knitting-machine, and itis operated so as to depress its eyed endby means of an inclined cam-plate Z, (see Fig. 4,) fixed to thehead-plate A, the upper inclined camface c of which is encountered bythe tail end 25 of the slackening-lever during the rotary movementthereof. The tail end of the slackening-lever travels up this inclinedcamface, thus lowering the eyed end of the lever. When the eyed end ofthe lever descends, it drags down the splicin g-th read from the guide11, consequently drawing down from the bobbin a length of threadproportional to its eX- tent of movement. When the tail end of theslackening-lever passes clear of the cam-plate Z, its weight causes itto descend, and so ele- This leaves slack all of the additional threaddrawn down by the lever, which is left in a loose loop. Consequentlywhen the movable grippingjaw releases the splicing-thread it is free ofal1 tension and is fed in to the needles with certainty and uniformityby the frictional contact therewith of the main thread.

The time of the slackening action of the slackening-lever 21 isdetermined by the position of the cam-plate Z. The slackeninglevershould operate after the gripper has gripped the splicing-thread andbroken it off,

and its operation should be completed before the gripper releases thethread. The relative positions shown in the drawings are correct, therespective positions of the several parts being therein properlyillustrated.

As compared with the mechanism set forth in the above-named application,the present improvements are seen to consist in the construction of thegripper, the construction of the slackening-lever, and the location andarrangement of the guide-eyes for the splicing and main threads. Themovable jaw of the gripper is simply a swinging lever co-operating withthe usual thread-guide plate of the knitting-machine as the stationaryjaw. No special construction of the thread-guide plate is necessary. Therelative positions of the gripper-jaws enable the splicing-thread topass at all times behind the movable gripping-jaw, so that there is noopportunity for it to slip from beneath the jaw.

The guide eye 16 for the main thread, through which the latter passesbefore entering the feeding-in eye c, is located in front of the eye cso that the main thread extends between the two eyes clear of themovable gripping-j aw. Consequently the movement of the gripping-j awdoes not affect the main thread, and there is no opportunity of thelatter being caught beneath the movable gripping-jaw. To prevent themain thread from getting too far above the thread-eye c, alaterally-proj ecting pin 26 is carried by the movable grippingjaw abovethe main thread.

The last guide-eye 15, through which the splicing-thread passes beforereaching the feeding-iu eye c, is located with special reference to themovable gripping-jaw, so that the splicing-thread always passes behindthe said movable jaw. The other two guides 11 12 are located withspecial reference to the eye in the slackening-lever, so that a slack isformed by the rise and fall of the slackening-lever. It will be notedthat when the eyed end of theslackening-lever descends the friction ofthe thread upon the guide 12 is greatly increased while that on theguide 11 is diminished, so that the pull von the thread comes almostexclusively upon that portion of the splicing-thread which extendsbetween guide 11 and the eye 241E in the slackening-lever.

The slackening-lever itself is a simple pivoted lever eyed at one end,weighted at the other end, and moving in a vertical plane. The eyed endin its movement travels in a vertical plane to and from the lowerguideeye 15. This slackening-lever is carried with the rotary parts ofthe knitting-machine rotating with the dial-cam plate and the leadinginthread-guide plate F. The eyed end of the slackening-lcver in givingdown the splicingthread moves toward the thread-guide plate,

so that slack thread is left between its eyeand the thread-guide platewhen the eyed end of the lever again rises.

The present improvements can be readily IOO lIC

l'ZO

applied to ordinary circularknitting machines now in use, since noalteration of the usual parts is necessary.

We claim as our inventionl. The rotating thread-guide plate of acircular-knitting machine having a leading-in thread -eye through whichboth the main thread and the splicing-thread pass, in combination withtwo thread-guides between which the splicing-thread passesbeforereachingsaid leading-in thread-eye, said thread-guides rotating withsaid thread-guide plate andlocated thereabove in substantially the samehorizontal plane, a swinging slackening-lever rotating with saidguide-plate, said lever extending normally in a substantially horizontalplane and swinging in a vertical plane, and said lever having athread-eye having normal position between said two thread-guides and insubstantially the same horizontal plane therewith, through which eye thesplicing thread passes in extending between said guides, the eyed end ofsaid lever swinging down toward said guide-plate to slacken the thread,and means for actuating said slackening-lever, substantially as setforth.

2. rlhe rotating thread-guide plate of a circular-knitting machinehaving a leading-in thread-eye through which both the main thread andthe splicing-thread pass and the stationary cam-plate Z, in combinationwith two thread-guidesbetween which the splicing-thread passes beforereaching said leading-in thread-eye, said thread-guides rotating withsaid threadguide plate and located thereabove in substantially the samehorizontal plane, and a swinging slackening-lever rotating with saidguide-plate and extending normally in a substantially horizontal planeand adapted to swing in a vertical plane, the rear end of said leverbeing weighted so that it maintains and automatically resumes (whendisplaced) its normal position, said rear end co-operating with saidcam-plate Z, whereby the movement of said lever is effected, and theother end of said lever having a threadeye having normal positionbetween said two thread-guides and in substantially the same horizontalplane therewith, through which thread-eye the splicing-thread passes ineX- tending between said guides, the eyed end of said lever swingingdown toward said guideplate to slacken the thread when actuated by saidcam-plate Z, substantially as set forth.

3. The thread-guide plate of aknitting-machine having a leading-in eyethrough which both the main thread and the splicing-thread pass, and aguide-eye in front of said guideplate and near said leading-in eyethrough which the splicing-thread passes just before entering saidleading-in eye, whereby said splicing-thread passes along the outer faceof said guide-plate, in combination with a movable gripping-jaw whichmoves to and from the outer face of said guide-plate between saidguide-eye and said leading-in eye, Whereby it grips the splicing-threadagainstthe outer face of said guide-plate, substantially as set forth.

4. A splicing-thread gripper composed. of the thread-guide plate of aknitting-machine having a leading-in thread-eye through which both themain thread and the splicing-thread pass, the outer face of saidguide-plate constituting the fixed gripping-jaw, in combination with amovable gri ppin g-j aw which moves to and from the outer face of saidguideplate, substantially as set forth.

5. A splicing-thread gripper composed of the thread-guide plate of aknitting-machine having a leading-in thread-eye through which both themain thread and the splicing-thread pass, the outer face of saidguide-plate constituting the xed gripping-jaw, in conibination with amovable gripping-jaw consisting of a lever having a vertical armextending along the outer face of said guide-platleand swinging to andfrom the same, substantially as set forth.

6. The thread-guide plate of a knitting-machine having a leading-iiithread-eye through which both the main thread and the splicing-threadpass and a movable gripping-Jaw which moves to and from said guide-plateat one side of said leading-in thread-eye and c ooperates with the outerface thereof to grip the splicing-thread, in combination with asplicing-thread guide-eye clo'se to the outer face of said guide-plateand on the opposite side of said movable jaw from the leading-in eye,whereby the splicing-thread passes between said movable jaw and theouter face of said guide-plate, and a main thread guideeye located infront of the leading-in eye, whereby the main thread passes into saidleading-in eye without being encountered by said movable jaw,substantially as set forth.

7. A splicing-thread gripper composed of the thread-guide plate of aknitting-machine havinga leading-in thread-eye through which both themain thread and the splicing-thread pass, the outer face of saidguide-plate constituting the fixed gripping-jaw, and a movablegripping-jaw consisting of a lever having a vertical arm extending alongthe outer face of said guide-plate and swinging to and from the saine,said vertical arm having two projecting pins 2O 20, in combination witha horizontally-movable cam-bar S for actuating said movable gripping-jaw, said cam-bar'having cam-faces u n, which co-operate alternately withsaid pins 2O 20, respectively, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof we have hereunto signed our names in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

'WILLIAlWI H. PEPPER. ALBERT T. L. DAVIS.

Witnesses:

J oHN ALDRicH, Tiioivms HAM.

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